Middle East
Who is Nasrallah?
Slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, whose death was confirmed yesterday by his Iran-backed movement, wielded great power in Lebanon but led a life in hiding to avoid assassination by his group’s arch-enemy, Israel.
Khamenei moved to a secure location
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters.
Tens of thousands protest against Lebanon 'bloodbath' in Iran, Yemen
Tens of thousands protested in Iranian cities and in the rebel-held Yemeni capital on Friday to condemn Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, AFP journalists and state media reported
Israel hits Hezbollah HQ in Beirut with heavy airstrikes
The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah’s central headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs yesterday in an attack that shook the Lebanese capital and sent thick clouds of smoke over the city.
Over 30,000 crossed into Syria from Lebanon
Well over 30,000 people, mainly Syrians, have crossed into Syria from Lebanon in the past 72 hours, the UN refugee agency said yesterday, amid an escalating conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah that has killed hundreds of people in Lebanon.
Israeli strikes kill 92 in Lebanon in past 24 hours: ministry
Israeli strikes have killed 92 people in Lebanon over the past 24 hours, the country's health ministry said late Thursday
Israel rejects truce proposal from US
Israel yesterday rejected global calls for a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, defying its biggest ally the US and pressing ahead with strikes that have killed hundreds in Lebanon and heightened fears of an all-out regional war.
Iraqi Islamic Resistance drone hits Israel’s port
The pro-Iran Islamic Resistance in Iraq group said it attacked Israel’s Red Sea port of Eilat Wednesday as another group urged more attacks amid soaring tensions over Gaza and Lebanon.
Hezbollah fires rockets at Israeli base
Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike yesterday wounded three people in the country’s east, with Hezbollah saying it launched “dozens of Katyusha rockets” at an Israeli base in retaliation.
600,000 children face ‘catastrophe’ in Rafah: Unicef
Some 600,000 children packed into Gaza’s Rafah city face “further catastrophe,” Unicef warned yesterday, urging against their forced relocation after Israel ordered an evacuation ahead of its long-threatened ground invasion.
‘Where can we go?’
Palestinian civilians in the southern Gazan city of Rafah voiced despair yesterday as Israel dropped fliers urging them to evacuate for their own “safety” ahead of a “limited” military operation.
Hopes for Gaza truce appear slim
Prospects for a Gaza ceasefire appeared slim yesterday as Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the offensive in exchange for the freeing of hostages, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly ruled that out.
Israel to shut down Al Jazeera’s local operations
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that his government has decided to shut down the Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera, with which his administration has had a long-running feud.
Four Lebanese killed in Israeli airstrike
An Israeli airstrike killed four members of a family in a house in a border village in southern Lebanon yesterday, civil defence and security sources said.
‘Full-blown famine’ happening in north Gaza
The chief of the United Nations’ food program has warned of a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza and reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
Pro-Palestinian Protest: Students set up camp at Ireland’s Trinity College
Students at Trinity College Dublin protesting Israel’s offensive in Gaza have built an encampment that forced the university to restrict campus access yesterday and close the Book of Kells exhibition, one of Ireland’s top tourist attractions.
Yemen rebels threaten to widen ship attacks to Mediterranean
Yemen’s Houthi rebels threatened to extend their attacks on Israel-bound shipping to the Mediterranean after months of strikes on vessels in the Red Sea.
Hopes of Gaza ceasefire rise
Hamas negotiators yesterday began intensified talks on a possible Gaza truce that would see a halt to the fighting and the return to Israel of some hostages, a Hamas official told Reuters, with the CIA director already present in Cairo for the indirect diplomacy.